Editing Semantics (section)

=== Compositionality ===
[[Compositionality]] is a key aspect of how languages construct meaning. It is the idea that the meaning of a complex expression is a function of the meanings of its parts. It is possible to understand the meaning of the sentence "Zuzana owns a dog" by understanding what the words ''Zuzana'', ''owns'', ''a'' and ''dog'' mean and how they are combined.<ref name="auto6">{{multiref | {{harvnb|Szabó|2020|loc=Lead Section}} | {{harvnb|Pelletier|1994|pp=11–12}} | {{harvnb|Krifka|2001|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=-wt1aZrGXLYC&pg=PA152 152]}} }}</ref> In this regard, the meaning of complex expressions like sentences is different from word meaning since it is normally not possible to deduce what a word means by looking at its letters and one needs to consult a dictionary instead.<ref>{{harvnb|Löbner|2013|pp=7–8, 10–12}}</ref>

Compositionality is often used to explain how people can formulate and understand an almost infinite number of meanings even though the amount of words and cognitive resources is finite. Many sentences that people read are sentences that they have never seen before and they are nonetheless able to understand them.<ref name="auto6"/>

When interpreted in a strong sense, the principle of compositionality states that the meaning of a complex expression is not just affected by its parts and how they are combined but fully determined this way. It is controversial whether this claim is correct or whether additional aspects influence meaning. For example, context may affect the meaning of expressions; [[idioms]] like "[[kick the bucket]]" carry [[Literal and figurative language|figurative or non-literal]] meanings that are not directly reducible to the meanings of their parts.<ref name="auto6"/>